On Saturday evening, the festival was filled to capacity with 450 people inside the church and another line that had formed to get in. Outside, there was an estimated 1,000 people on the macadam lot. And by the end of this evening, organizers predict upward of 6,000 to 8,000 people to have attended.

But the festival, formed by the Rev. Hares Zogheib and George Boulos, began very modestly, recalled Deacon Anthony Koury.

"It started with a couple tents and a charcoal grill," he said. "It's the pride of the people and their heritage and ancestry. That pride keeps the festival going."

Anthony Budway, chief financial officer for the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, said the event is the church's largest fundraiser and he estimated a 15 percent increase in proceeds this year compared with 2013.

"We all make the festival," said Vivianne Rizk, of Forks Township. "Because we offer the best food, the best music and the best environment."

Eight or nine neighboring parishes within a 75-mile radius attend the festival annually. They include parishioners from Somerset, New Jersey; Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; Providence, Rhode Island; Danbury, Connecticut; and Brooklyn, New York.

And then there are those who travel from as far as Lebanon and Australia. Barry Barakat, of Australia, was one of the long-distance travelers.

"I have traveled throughout the world, visiting Lebanese communities, and there's nothing like it," he said about the festival. "People come to catch up with family and friends in one place."

Charlie Ehid, of Palmer Township, has attended since 1987.

"If you don't get together during the year, you get together at this," Ehid said.

Volunteers make all the food tirelessly, Koury described. He said some stayed until 1 this morning and then returned by 6 a.m.

"It's a testimony of their faith and belief in their ancestry," Koury said.

Patty Mosellie, of Easton, was making fried dough, which she said is typically enjoyed after a larger meal. Others were helping themselves to shish kabobs, baklava and hummus in droves. Favorites among guests were zaatar bread and falafel, which is similar to a veggie burger.

Family recipes are passed down from generation to generation, but Koury refuses to call children the future of the festival.

"They're the present and the future," he said, noting they help out already.

Other highlights of the festival include a Maronite Catholic Mass celebrated at the church 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 this morning. Bishop Gregory Mansour, of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, helped in the celebration.

A troupe dance called "dabke," gathering performers ages 2 to 20, is expected to conclude the event this evening, with both group and solo dancing. Koury said it's tradition for guests to throw money at the dancers as a sign of happiness.